


Cat Caem

by SoldatMort, Squeemu



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: During Canon, Fluff and Humor, Four bros at a lighthouse, Gen, Ignis takes care of everything, Noct is also terrible at domestic chores, Noct loves cats, Noct loves his friends, POV Alternating, Really small elements of creepiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 16:53:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30041784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoldatMort/pseuds/SoldatMort, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squeemu/pseuds/Squeemu
Summary: Noct blinked, yanking the door open and a little inky shadow strolled into the bathroom like it belonged here. He stared at the thing for a second, and the shadow slowly materialized into a cat.She was all skin and bones and soft grey fur, just like the one from the lighthouse. The one Ignis thought had followed him all the way to Cape Caem from Galdin Quay. She ignored him, looking around the bathroom for a few minutes before she turned and let out a little meow, winding her way around his legs and purring like crazy."Where did you come from, huh?" Noct asked, bending down to pet her.The cat gave him a look, like he was being very stupid. She let him pet her a few times, though, before pulling away and heading towards the bathroom door. She glanced back once, giving an imperious meow, and then disappeared down the hallway."Hey!" Noct whispered loudly, "wait!"The cat, of course, ignored him.Crap. Where was she going? And what if she woke everyone else up? Noct got up, ignoring the ache in his leg, and followed her out the door. She'd stopped in front of the guest room."You can't go in there," he informed her, trying to keep his voice down.She meowed loudly.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia
Comments: 12
Kudos: 27





	Cat Caem

**Author's Note:**

> Written in collaboration with [LeSoldatMort](https://twitter.com/LeSoldatMort). Mort was the entire brains of this operation, providing the plot and all the great little details. I just filled it in with some narration. 
> 
> Thank you for providing such wonderful story ideas, inspiration, and encouragement, Mort! I had such a good time working on this. <3

The night was cold and damp, the sky at Cape Caem heavy with threatening clouds. Noct couldn't get to sleep. The mattress was weird and soft after their nights of sleeping in the tent, and his pillow was flat and lumpy. When sleep finally came, it was fitful, his dreams haunted by strange shadows.

He wasn't really sure how long he'd been sleeping when he opened his eyes, suddenly and acutely _awake_. 

Noct closed his eye again, doing his best to get back to sleep, but he couldn't get settled. There was some part of his brain that kept trying to figure out what woke him up. Maybe Gladio'd crashed into something on his way to the bathroom. It'd already happened a few times. Ignis had politely suggested he stop sleeping on the couch, but Gladio insisted he was more comfortable there. Noct thought he was just too lazy to move, but hey, that was his problem, right? 

Only Noct could hear Gladio snoring on the couch. Wasn't him, then. And Prompto was asleep next to him, making these soft little snorting sounds he always made. The bed was somehow too warm and too cold all at the same time, and after a few minutes, Noct finally gave up. He pushed himself out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom. He'd just finished when he heard a sharp _bang_ followed by a soft _thump_ just outside the door.

Noct jumped. That was—probably just the wind, right? 

He took a deep breath, forcing his nerves to settle. It wasn't like it could be anything that bad. They were in Cape Caem. It was probably just Gladio falling off the couch.

He'd finished washing his hands when he heard the other sound. A horrible scritching, like nails being dragged lightly down the door. The hair on the back of his neck rose, blood freezing in his veins. The—the hell had that been?

Another soft _scraaaaatch_ and Noct wanted to get out of the bathroom, _now_. Only—whatever was making that noise had to be just outside. Or maybe in the walls? He'd heard of rats doing that out here in the outlands. And the house at Cape Caem had definitely seen better days. It almost definitely had rats. 

Noct took a breath and summoned his courage. He'd faced daemons. He could handle a stupid little rat. 

He put his hand on the doorknob, ready to go out there, but before he could turn it, there was a _thud_ against the door that he could feel all the way through his palm. He jerked his hand back, stumbling away. 

The hell was that? 

There weren't daemons at Cape Caem, or at least there hadn't been any before. But what if the lights had gone out down by the road? What if—

He shook his head, trying to clear it. This was stupid. Gladio would laugh in his face if he knew Noct was stuck in the bathroom because he'd heard some noise outside. He'd faced MTs before, Iron Giants. Even that Naga. Those were all worse than whatever had made that little noise. But he couldn't shake the idea of one of those _things_ sneaking around the hallway. Those imps with the long fingers and longer fingernails poking and prodding through their stuff while they slept.

Noct wanted Ignis, suddenly. Ignis would know what to do. But he was in the guest room, fast asleep, while daemons and rats crept through the halls. 

Noct'd almost managed to summon his courage when he heard the noise again. That scratching at the door followed this time by a—a _meow_ , small and needy.

Huh?

Noct blinked, yanking the door open and a little inky shadow strolled into the bathroom like it belonged here. He stared at the thing for a second, and the shadow slowly materialized into a cat. Noct knelt down to get a closer look, and—whoa.

The cat looked really familiar. She was all skin and bones and soft grey fur, just like the one from the lighthouse. The one Ignis thought had followed him all the way to Cape Caem from Galdin Quay. She ignored him, looking around the bathroom for a few minutes before she turned and let out a little meow, winding her way around his legs and purring like crazy. 

"Where did you come from, huh?" Noct asked, bending down to pet her.

The cat gave him a look, like he was being very stupid. She let him pet her a few times, though, before pulling away and heading towards the bathroom door. She glanced back once, giving an imperious meow, and then disappeared down the hallway.

"Hey!" Noct whispered loudly, "wait!" 

The cat, of course, ignored him.

Crap. Where was she going? And what if she woke everyone else up? Noct got up, ignoring the ache in his leg, and followed her out the door. She'd stopped in front of the guest room.

"You can't go in there," he informed her, trying to keep his voice down.

She meowed loudly.

"I mean it," he hissed. 

She abandoned the door to circle around behind him, rubbing up against his legs like she was making a good argument instead of just being a nuisance.

It kind of was a good argument, though. She was hard to ignore when she was being so friendly. "Ignis would kill me," Noct muttered, more to convince himself than her.

" _Mrrreow?_ "

Noct sighed. Maybe he should just let her in. He could crawl back to bed and pretend he didn't know anything about it. Maybe she just wanted a warm place to stay for the night. He couldn't even blame her. But Ignis would be mad if she got hair all over his clothes and Gladio would yell if she woke him up. 

She let out another meow, louder and more demanding.

"Sorry," Noct whispered. 

He had to do _something_ , though. She clearly wasn't going to leave them alone until she had what she wanted. Noct just had to figure out what that was. He could do that no problem. He'd figured out how to placate council members before.

Maybe she was hungry. She was probably used to Monica feeding her. Monica had said she used to have cats back in Insomnia, right? There had to be something downstairs the cat would want. "C'mon," he told her and headed down the stairs, hoping the cat would follow.

She did. _Yes!_ He had to be on the right track.

It was hard to see in the dark, and harder still to know where to step with the cat underfoot. At least she'd stopped pawing at the doors, though. He managed to reach the kitchen without too much trouble and flicked on the light, starting his search for cat food.

He started with the cupboards, trying to be quiet as he could. Nothing but dishes in the first one. The second one was full of pots and pans. The third was more promising—it had actual food in it, but nothing a cat would want. A can of tomatoes. Gross. A jar of pickled beets. Grosser. Some uncooked pasta. Meh.

The cat sat down, watching him patiently with her huge, round eyes, like this was something that happened daily. Maybe she really did come around every night, waiting for Monica to feed her. 

Ugh. Come on. There had to be _some_ thing in here she could eat. 

The cat lifted her paw to her mouth, giving it a delicate lick. Set it down again and _mrreowed_ another question at him.

"I'm looking," Noct muttered at her, opening another cabinet. "Just—hold on, okay?" Nothing. He took a breath. Last cabinet. Opened it up and—crap. Just a bunch of human food. More uncooked pasta, some jam, a jar of peanut butter. Ugh. "Sorry," Noct told the cat. "There's nothing here for you." Maybe Monica didn't feed her after all.

The cat looked at him.

"Just human stuff," Noct told her, glancing back in. "Peanut butter. Jam. Canned—" and stopped, staring. Was that a tin of sardines? Cats loved fish, right? He grinned and pulled it down, opening it up and setting it in front of her.

"There you are," he told her. Too bad Prompto wasn't awake for this. He loved stuff like this. 

The cat perked her ears, leaning forward to examine the plate. She sniffed it delicately and then sat back, licking at her paw again like she didn't even consider sardines food. The hell? Did she not like fish? Or—maybe these were expired? Did canned food go bad?

Or maybe the can was too hard to eat out of. Noct reached down, trying to not startle her. Not that she looked easily startled. "I'll give it back," he promised, and got one of the small plates from the cupboard. The edges were nice and low. Perfect.

This time, she gave the fish a quick, careful lick. And then—walked away, heading back for the stairs.

"Wha—hey!" Noct protested. She was going to wake everyone up. "Get back here," he whispered after her, as loud as he dared. He gestured at the plate of sardines on the ground. "What am I supposed to do with this?" 

The cat ignored him, one paw already on the stairway.

Crap. He couldn't just leave the fish out. He was sleepy, but he still knew Ignis would freak over the wasted can. And Gladio would probably give him some dumb lecture about being a prince. But that didn't help him figure out what to do with it. 

Ugh. He didn't have time to worry about it. She'd already disappeared up the stairs. He grabbed the plate and stuck it in the refrigerator, along with the half-empty tin, and hurried after her.

He found her at the guest room door again, meowing.

"Shh!" Noct tried. "I'll—I'll let you in, geez, just—calm down, okay?" 

The cat ignored him, but she stopped meowing at least. She was still stationed right at the door, though, waiting for him to open it.

He nudged her aside a little with his foot. "You can't wake anyone up," he warned her. "Okay?"

No response. 

…good. Maybe that meant she'd calmed down.

He opened the door a crack, glancing down at her to make sure she wasn't gonna freak out. Nothing. Okay then. He pushed it open a little more, slow and careful, hoping she wouldn't dart in.

She didn't. She peered curiously into the dark room for what felt like an entire minute and then sat down at the edge, licking a paw and washing her ear. Noct couldn't even shut the door now without hitting her.

"Are you going in or what?" Noct demanded, trying to keep his voice down.

She kept cleaning her paw, like she hadn't just been begging to get into this room. 

"I'm not going to leave the door open," Noct informed her, crossing his arms.

She didn't even look at him.

\- - -

_Prompto was running. He ran and ran and ran, Gladio staggering beside him, Noct always falling just out of Prompto's sight. They couldn't keep up this pace much longer, but the empire was coming, a whole army of MTs searching for them._

_A little shack appeared in the middle of the dust storm, offering a poor shelter from the sand and everything it hid. But they had to stop, needed time to catch their breath. Maybe the empire wouldn't find them in here. He pulled the others in with him and slammed the door shut._

_He knew the MTs were coming, though. He could feel it. Hunting them down with their weird limbs and glowing hearts and freaky faces, eyes burning holes into Prompto's head._

_They had to keep quiet or the MTs would hear them, every time Prompto moved, he tripped over something, knocking everything down with a loud clatter._

_"Be quiet," Gladio growled._

_"Just need—a moment to rest," Noct panted. His mouth kept moving, but Prompto couldn't hear him over the wail of the wind, the heavy **thud! thud! thud!** of something huge and heavy moving toward them._

_Prompto couldn't breathe. A horrible dread settled over his limbs, holding him down._

_The banging got louder, closer, and Prompto's heart was screaming with nerves. He couldn't move, couldn't do anything but listen as the empire drew in._

_Noct could still move though. All Prompto could do was watch as his friend got up to check the door, turn the handle and push it open._

_"NOCT!" Prompto yelled, his throat raw from terror. "Don't! They'll get you!"_

_Noct looked back at him, his eyes glowing, and the door flung open with a loud explosion, the light blinding—_

"— _Noct!_ " 

Prompto sat up, his heart pounding. Everything was dark except for the small amount of light streaming in through the open door, Noct looking in at him. _Get out get out get out,_ Prompto's head was screaming but his voice wouldn't work.

Except—instead of the explosion, there was a little meow. 

Did Noct just—? Had he really just? _Meowed?_

There was a loud clatter at the window and Prompto jumped about a foot off the mattress. F-fuck. He took a breath, another, trying to calm his heart down. At least the wind explained that freaky nightmare. 

Noct meowed again and then hissed, "Shh!" at himself. The hell? Was Prompto still dreaming?

"Noct?" he whispered.

Noct didn't reply. Prompto pinched himself, just to check that he was actually awake. He wasn't really sure _why_ people pinched themselves, but that's what everybody did in the movies. There had to be a reason.

Noct meowed again and looked down at the ground, toward this little black blob— and oh, oh shit! A cat! A cat who was meowing, which meant that Noct definitely probably was not. Okay. Prompto could deal with that.

But—why the hell was there a cat in the doorway?

Prompto made himself get up out of the warm, comfy bed and into the decidedly less comfy, decidedly more drafty room. Tiptoed over to the door, trying hard to be quiet. He could almost see the cat now, instead of that inky blob of a shadow. It had its nose stuck in the room, like it was excited to meet him, but as soon as Prompto got close, it leapt back, startled.

"Duuude," Noct complained, voice low. "She was almost in!"

Prompto stared at him. "So?" He rubbed at his eyes, stepping out into the hallway and letting Noct shut the door behind him. 

"So you scared her!" 

Prompto was suddenly waaaaay too tired for this. "Noct, it's, like, three in the morning, why are you trying to lure a cat into our room? She's gonna wake everyone up."

"Ugh," Noct muttered, rubbing at his wrist with one hand. "She was gonna wake everyone up anyway, she wouldn't stop scratching at the door." 

Prompto took that in. "Maybe she's hungry?" he tried, covering a yawn with one arm. 

Noct gave him a super dirty look, like Prompto'd just accused him of cheating at fishing or something. "I tried, thanks." He let out a breath, turning his head to look at the cat. Prompto followed his gaze. She was sitting at the top of the stairs, now, looking back at both of them like she'd been waiting patiently for them to help her for _ages_ now.

"You could put her outside," Prompto offered. "I dunno man, just—" he yawned, harder this time. "She's a cat. She'll be fine."

Noct shook his head stubbornly. "No way. Not in this weather," he said firmly and for a moment, Prompto remembered all over again that his best buddy was, like, _actually_ the crown prince of an entire kingdom. "Something would happen to her for sure," he added, and just like that, he was Noct again. He hesitated. "I could just leave the door open."

"Whatever," Prompto said and gave up on the whole thing. He was suddenly super tired, now that he knew Noct was alive and okay. And definitely _not_ a cat. ”But if she wakes Gladio up, he's gonna put her outside. Through the window, if you know what I mean." And based on Noct's frown, he knew exactly what Prompto meant, which was good because Prompto couldn't remember anymore. "I'm going back to bed." Prompto clapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck, buddy," and left him to it.

\- - -

Noct only had a second to stare at the door that had been shut quietly but firmly in his face before the cat meowed at him. "Seriously?" he groaned. She meowed again and Noct gave serious thought to trying Prompto's suggestion and luring her outside. But—with what? And she'd just come back in again, anyway. 

She gave him this pointed look, like she was checking to make sure he was still paying attention, and then headed down the stairs. Noct sighed, following behind and almost tripping over her in the process. 

"Be careful," he told her sternly, doing his best to keep his voice down. The cat, of course, continued to ignore him. 

Noct was starting to wish he'd followed Prompto back to the room. He wanted to be under the covers, the sooner the better. But—maybe now that the cat knew what was in that room, she would actually eat the sardines? 

Or maybe she was just thirsty? He could give her a bowl of water and go to bed. He held onto that thought long enough to get him into the kitchen. She was watching him expectantly. She definitely wanted _something._

Noct filled a bowl with fresh water and placed it carefully down in front of her, holding his breath. She leaned forward, sniffing the bowl carefully. Just like with the sardines. Only this time, she actually put her nose down and lapped at the water. Yes! Maybe now she would let Noct go to bed.

Noct was watching her so closely he almost missed the creak of the door, but the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs were impossible to miss.

Crap. They'd woken someone up.

The footsteps weren't heavy enough to be Gladio's, anyway. Maybe it was Prompto again, unable to resist the idea of a cute photoshoot. 

Only—it wasn't Prompto, it was Ignis, his eyes shadowed and his hair unkempt. "Noct?" he asked quietly, voice a little rough from sleep. His eyes slid to the cat lapping water and back to Noct. "I see," he sighed, voice full of resignation, but he was smiling when he added, "The cat from the lighthouse?"

Noct huffed out a breath. "She woke me up," he started, already feeling defensive. "I don't know how she got in, but she wouldn't stop meowing." 

Ignis blinked, taking that in. "I suppose she knows you're her good friend, a human she can trust. "

"But I don't know what she wants," Noct said plaintively. "I tried to—you know. Feed her and stuff. But she won't eat _anything_."

Ignis arched a single, skeptical eyebrow. "You? Tried to feed _her?_ "

Noct frowned. There was something about the way Ignis had said that—oh crap, that was right. He'd been so tired he totally forgot! This cat was super picky. She didn’t even like fresh fish, she’d only eaten once Monica had prepared some fancy dish for her. "Y-yeah," Noct mumbled, suddenly defeated.

“What did you try to feed her, exactly?" Ignis sounded amused.

Ugh. Noct grimaced. "It's in the fridge."

Ignis moved to the refrigerator, opening the door and pulling out both the plate and the can of sardines. Noct could smell them even from here. Ignis looked at him, both eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Uh—" Noct started, stopped. Crap. The whole fridge probably stank of fish, now. He—really should have covered that up better. Put it all in a bag or a container or—or _something_. He just—hadn't thought of it.

Monica wasn't gonna be happy. But she'd smile and be polite, because he was the prince and she had to be. Dammit. 

He forced his fingers to relax, rubbing absently at his wrist. He'd had to follow the cat! He didn't have time to look for a container. He took a breath, let it out, wanting to tell Ignis, but he couldn't make himself say the words. They were just excuses, anyway. Ignis would see right through them. He always did.

But when he looked over at Ignis, the guy didn't look mad. There was a little smile on his face, even, as he rooted through Monica's spices, setting a few things out on the counter. 

Noct's shoulders loosened a little. Ignis got it. He knew Noct'd tried, at least. It was okay. And Ignis would know what to do. He definitely knew how to clean up the fridge after dealing with Noct's all through high school. And he'd know what to do with the cat, too. Even if he didn't, he'd think of something. He always did.

Noct leaned on the counter, eyes getting heavier and heavier as he watched Ignis prepare the dish. He was yawning by the time Ignis finished, a sprig of parsley set in the middle, like the cat would care about the presentation.

Maybe she would. She definitely hadn't been interested in Noct's attempt.

Ignis set the dish down on the floor and _this_ time, the cat came over immediately, her ears perked with interest. She wasted almost no time sniffing the plate before digging in. She must've really been hungry.

"If she was that hungry, I don't know why she didn't just eat the sardines," Noct muttered.

Ignis gave him a fond smile. "Something I've often asked myself when it comes to you and vegetables."

Ugh. "Ignis," he complained.

Ignis's smile grew. "Hmm?"

"Vegetables are gross," Noct said firmly.

"If you say so," Ignis murmured, leaning against the counter next to Noct, his eyes on the cat's greedy bites.

It felt kinda nice, hanging here just the two of them. Reminded Noct of all the late nights from before, back in Insomnia. Ignis making coffee for both of them, their heads bent over their work. 

Noct had almost nodded off by the time the cat had finished her feast. Satisfied, she ignored them completely, jumping up onto the couch and settling in like she belonged there. It was hard to believe such a small ball of fur had made so much trouble. 

Ignis gave the plate a quick rinse and touched Noct's shoulder before taking him by the arm and leading him up the stairs. 

Noct followed him into bed, crawling under Ignis's sheets almost without thinking about it. It wasn't like he meant to abandon Prompto. But Ignis was already awake. Noct didn't want to wake Prompto up twice in one night. 

"'Night," Noct muttered, his mouth smushed against the pillow. He was asleep before Ignis had a chance to reply.


End file.
